Teachers protest at Ajax-Pickering MPP's office

Say provincial legislation wasn't necessary

Teachers protest at Ajax-Pickering MPP's office

Photo by Armando Villavona

AJAX-- Glenn Marsh gave thumbs up to cars honking their horns while he attended a teachers' protest to show disapproval of Bill 115 on October 26 in front of MPP Joe Dickson's office on Commercial Avenue. October 26, 2012.

DURHAM -- A small contingent of teachers and labour activists brought their fight with the provincial government to Ajax-Pickering MPP Joe Dickson's office Friday afternoon.

Teachers are upset at the government's legislation, Bill 115, that takes away their right to strike while freezing teacher pay for two years.

Dave Barrowclough, president of District 13 of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, said, "It's unnecessary legislation put in place by the Liberals. We want to bargain a legal deal with our legal partner. It strips us of our right to strike. It strips us of our right to bargain."

About two dozen teachers, from both high schools and elementary schools, along with members of the Durham Region Labour Council, took part in the protest.

While the bill imposes a wage settlement, union chapters still have to negotiate a new contract with boards. The contract has to be the same as the agreement reached between the Province and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association.

"We offered a wage freeze. They're lying to you when they said it's about money. It's about our rights being stripped. We offered a deal of zero and zero per cent," Mr. Barrowclough said.

"We want to sit down with them. We're not going out on strike. They don't want to sit down. We want to be able to craft a deal with our employer," he added.

Without the legislation, "I could probably have had a deal two months ago if the government wasn't involved."

Teachers recognize the financial situation the Province is in and would have negotiated a deal that took that into consideration, he said.

Greer Roberts, representing occasional teachers, said the bill "seems to be an unprecedented attack on collective bargaining and a union's right to strike in certain situations. It's an unnecessary and unprecedented move really."

Maureen Graves, a teacher at Sinclair Secondary School, said she was protesting because of the "fact they stripped us of all our rights. I had over 500 sick days and they're gone. We don't have LTD (long term disability)."

A common misconception is that teachers could cash-in their sick days, but she said that wasn't allowed, even before Bill 115 was passed.

"We never said we won't take a pay freeze. We wanted to bargain and negotiate, but they won't even do that. They're not bargaining, they're not negotiating. This is the way it will happen. You don't see the MPPs rolling back their pensions, do you," she asked.

Mr. Dickson said he didn't know the protest was on, so he didn't meet with the protesters.

"The whole thing is being done as a safeguard for our students attending school and their parents," Mr. Dickson stated.

The bill is "a two-year temporary measure. It's not long term," he added.

By going with a two-year freeze, "the focus of funding is on education."

It will allow continuation of full-day kindergarten, smaller classrooms and retaining "20,000 jobs for teachers and full-time support staff," he noted.